Combined gas and steam system for engines



T. A. mum/m. COMBINED GAS AND STEAM SYSTEM FOR ENGINES- APPLICATlON FILED SEPT- H-l I917- RENEWED JAN- 6,192].

4 SHEETS-SHEET lgrvueui'oz ZA .AL'ZZwea/a Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

, attozneqs T. A. K|LLMAN..

COMBINED GAS AND STEAM SYSTEM FOR ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. H, 1917- RENEWEII JAN. 6, 1921.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2- T. A. KILLMAN.

COMBINED GAS AND STEAM SYSTEM FOR ENGINES.

APPLICATION nuzn SEP'LH, 1917. RENEWED JAN. 6. 1921.

1,373,509, Patent/ed Apr. 5; 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' FAA 2651736212,

T. A. KILLMAN.

(IEOMBINED GAS AND STEAM SYSTEM FOR ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPLH, 1917- RENEWED JAN- 6,1921.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- lll l l. I Ilm i ll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'IHOMAS'A. KILLMAN, or NASHVILLE, rnimnssnn, ASSIGNOR 'ro KILLMAN nnvnnor- 'mr 00., or NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, A coaronxrron.

COMBINED GAS AND STEAM SYSTEM FOR ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Application flledseptember 11, 1917, Serial No. 190,844. Renewed January 6, 1921. Serial No. 485,534.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs A. KILLMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Combined Gas and Steam Systems for Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in prime movers and more particularly in engines, the primary object of my invention being the provision of an engine and correlated systemby means of which a maximum degree of efliciency is obtained due to unusual conservation 'of the power or energy generated.

'It is a well known fact that in fluid motors, such as steam engines or internal combustion engines there is a large waste of ener due to the fact that the expanding fiui whether it be the burning gases. of the internal combustion engine or the steam of the steam engine, loses its effectiveness long before its energy has been transformed into available power, that is long before such fluid has become cool. The primary object of my invention is to construct an engine which will, to a great extent, overcome this difliculty.

More specifically, the chief object of my present invention consists in the construction-of an engine of compound type, combining both a steam engine and an internal combustion engine as part of a single motor whereby the unutilized heat generated by the internal combustion engine and ordinarily lost as exhaust gases is utilized to create steam to drive pistons in steam cylinders.

' In this connection, a still further object of my invention and one of equal im ortance is the provision of a combined ash boiler and radiator so arranged and constructed thatthe exhaust gases fromthe explosion cylinders of the engine may be passed through 1t to create steam for operating the steam cylinders of the engine and still so' arranged that it may operate efliciently as a radiator for cooling the water from the water jacketing of theinternal combustion cylinders of the en ine. Another object o my invention resides in returning the water from the water jacketing of the explosion cylinders of the engine to the combined boiler and radiator at a 515 point where it will assist in the creating of steam and a still further object resides in returnmg the exhaust steam from the steam cyllnders of the combined. boiler and radlator so that it may assist in generating additional steam.

With these and other objects in view, the lnventlon consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter shown and described and then specifically pointed out 1n the claims; and in the drawings illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the.

invention.

In the drawings:

Flgure 1 is a side elevation of my improved compound engine and its combined boiler and radiator as employed upon a' stationary engine or as a power engine movable from place to place, I have, for the sake of clearly disclosing t, illustrated it as an automobile engine, as it is particularly adapted for this purpose.

Referring more particularly to Figs. -1 and 2 of the drawings it will be seen that the motor or engine proper includes a central pair of steam cylinders 10 and a air of internal combustion cylinders '11 disposed in front and behind. the steam cylinders.

These cylinders may be cast in block, as

shown or may be formed in pairs or singly as preferred, and have a common crank casing 12, journaling the crank shaft 13 which is connected in the usual manner by connecting rods 14 with the pistons 15 of the steam c linders and by the connectin rods 16 with t e pistons 17 of the firing cy indersa An ex losive mixture is supplied to the firin cy inders by any suitable carburetor 18 t tough the usual intake manifold 19, while the exhaust ases are discharged from these firing c lin ers through an exhaust manifold 20. ipes'21' lead to the lower portions of the water jackets 22 of the firing I, H ing cylinders and their correlated parts,

such as their valves and the like, is identical with that ordinarily employed in internal combustion engine practice, any detail vdescription is unnecessary.

Steam is supplied through pipes 24 to the steam chest 25 of the steam cylinders and is exhausted from such steam chest through pipes 25, the admission of steam from the chest to the cylinders and from the cylinders to the chest being controlled by the usual steam slide valve 26 in the ordinary manner. Any means commonly employed in steam engine practice, may be utilized for governing and controlling the operation of the steam cylinders and any detail showing or description is therefore not required my invention residing rather in the idea of combining steam cylinders and explosion cylinders in a single engine and the system by which the exhaust gases from the explosion cylinders are utilized to create steam for the steam cylinders. e

In carryin out this idea, I provide a combined boi er and radiator, indicated 'as a whole by the numeral 27 which, if the engine is employed upon a motor vehicle, usually corresponds in shape to the ordinar radiator and is preferably similarly locate As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, this radiator includes a metallic casing inclosed upon all sides and having a front wall 28, back wall 29, side walls 30, top 'wall 31 and bottom wall 32. The top wall is preferably provided with a spout 33 through which water'may, be admitted to the casing, this spout being normally closed by a cap 34. A drain pipe 35, WlllOll' also serves as an exhaust pipe, leads from the bottom of the casing.

Disposed within this casing is a plurality of tubular water coils 36 of pipe of proper diameter and material, the coils being spaced one in front of the other with their convolutions extending transversely of the,

casing from side to side, sufficient convolutions being provided so that each, coil in its entity will extend from top.to4 bottom of the casing. The lower ends of the coils are all connected in any suitable manner, such as by a header 37 and their upper ends vare connected in like manner by aheader 38 which is preferably disripsed centrally of v the width 0 the casing. rojecting transversely of the casing and horizontally disposed are a plurality of bafiie walls 39 each connected at one end to one of the side walls of the casing and each having its opposite end spaced from the other-slde wall of the. casing, alternate baflie walls being connected to opposite sides of the casing so as to provide a tortuous passage from side to side of the casing throughout its entire height. Preferably such a wall is located between each two adjacent sections of the coils in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 3.

Water for this combined radiator and boiler is supplied from a tank 40 through a pipe 41 from which the pipes 21, previously mentioned, branch, the end of the pipe 41 being connected into the header 37 Preferably, a portionof this pipe is led through the dash of the vehicle and provided with a sight gage and controlling valve, as shown at 42, in order that the proper water level may be maintained in the coils 36 at all times, fresh water being supplied to the through its loss as steam and in the cooling system of the firing cylinders. A live steam pipe 43 connects the pipes 24 with the header 38 so that steam generated in the coils may pass to the valve chests of the steam cylinders. A pipe 44 is tapped into the rear wall of the casing 27 about three quarters the height of the radiator, as shown at 45 and connects-with the steam exhaust pipes 25 so that exhaust steam from the steam cylinders will be returned to the easing. The pipe 23 leading from the cooling jackets of the firing cylinders is, in like manner, tapped into one or more of the coils 36, preferably at the level of the ex haust steam return pipe 44 but at-a point below the water level in the combined boiler and radiator,-the water level therein being at approximately three quarters the height of the boiler. The exhaust manifold 20 is connected by any suitableflexible coupling 46 to a tubular nipple 47 which communicates with the casing of the combined radiator and boiler at or near its top.

F or use in case of emergencies and as a means for keepingthe s stem from freezing during cold weather, preferably proboiler and radiator as it is exhausted vide a hydro-carbon burner 48 of any suitable type, the burner being supported in proper position beneath the bottom of the combined boiler and radiator.

In operation, the firing cylinders are put into action in the usual manner employed with internal combustion engines-and the engine 1s thus run idlea short time. The exhaust gases from these firing cylinders passing from the intake manifold 20 into the top of the casing of thecombined boiler andradiator and into the tortuous passages lncloslng the coils, escape through the p1pe 35. These exhaust gases highly heat the upper portions of the coils, which do not contain water so that at-the point of water levelsteam is quickly generated upon the flash boiler principle. When suflicientpressure has thus been obtained, the steam cylinders come into operation and supplement the explosion cylinders, so that all four cylinders work as a unit to drive the crank shaft.

It should be noted that it is very important that the exhaust gases be admitted to the casing of the boiler near its'top in order that they may immediately come in contact with the empty upper portions of the boiler coils before they have had time to cool so that the Water in the lower pipes rising into contact with the heated pipes will be flashed into steam immediately.

Another very important reason for applying the heat at the top instead of the bottom is, that the heat from the exhaust gases will be absorbed by the water at the top; and as this water becomes hotter it expands and becomes lighter, and under the influence of gravity it remains at the top while the cold Water, being heavier, remains atthe bottom. So there is no mixing of the hot water at the top and the cold water at the bottom, and the result is an accumulation, or concentration, of heat at the top which in a very short time converts this water into highly heated steam, and in a condition to run the engine while the water at the bottom is comparatively cool; and, as the cold water is fed in at the bottom, it absorbs the remainder of the heat in the exhaust gases. Whereas, if the heat be ap'- phed at the bottom, the water at the bottom will become heated first and will rise to the top and the coldwater at the top will descend to takeits place, which wil cause the hot and cold water to mix; and by' the law of convection,all the water in the boiler will be brought to the same temperature so that no steam can be generated in any part of the boiler untilthe entire contents are raised to the steaming point. Therefore, the remaining heat' in. the exhaust gases, which has a temperature equal to or lessthan the temperature of'the steam,-

cannot be absorbed by the water in the boiler and would pass on out and be lost, which Iha-ve found to be a great'percentage of loss.

1 Furthermore, due to the extremely large coil surfaces exposed, practically all of the assured for t e cooling ackets of the explosion cylinders. Returnin of the heated water from these cooling iac ets to the pre-' heated water in the coi s just below the point of steam generation therein also serves to preheat the water just before it 'to the starting of the engine.

reaches such point of steam generation. Furthermore, the return of exhaust steam from the steam cylinders to the casing of the boiler, additionally assists in preheating the water in the boiler. Itwill therefore be appreciated that aside from loss once been in operation, it ma be restarted without cranking after a s ort stop by merely admitting steam to the steam cylinders, sufiicient steam pressure remaining in the boiler to permit this. Furthermore, in case of accident to the ignition system of the firin cylinders or in ury to the cylinders such as would prevent generation of power therein, the engine may be operated entirely upon steam by use of the burner 48.

This burner will also serve to prevent any freezing in the system duringfprolonged stops in cold weather and if desired, may be used to preheat the water in the boiler prior Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a motor, the combination with firing cylinders having water jackets, and,

steam cylinders, of a combined boiler and radiator mcludlng a casin and a conveyer within the casing, means or maintaining a constant water level in the conveyer, means including the lower portions of the conveyer for maintaining a circulation of water through the water jackets, means for leading exhaust gases from the firing cylinders into the upper portions of the casing to heat the water within the conveyer, means for leading steam from the upper ends of the conveyer to the steam cylinders, and means for conducting the exhaust steam from such cylinders to the interior of said casing at a point adjacent the water level of the same.

2. In a power system, in combination, an internal combustion engine having a water jacket and an exhaust, a steam engine havmg an exhaust, a steam generator including a series of coils,.means for supplying water to the coils at the lower portion thereof, means establishing communication same thereagainst.

3. A power plant including an internal combustion engine having an exhaust and a water jacket, a steam engine having an exhaust, a vertical casing having an exhaust inlet at its upper portion and an exhaust outlet at its lower end, a water conveyer arranged within said casing and extending from the bottom to the top of the same and having communication with said steam engine, means to conductthe Water from said water jacket to said conveyer at a point adjacent the water level of the same,

and means for discharging the exhaust steam from said steam engine against said conveyer.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

THOMAS A. KILLMAN. [LS-1 

